The Empire Co. Ltd is buying the Farm Boy food chain for $800 million to add to its Sobeys supermarket business.
It says this time it will leave the owners and managers in place, unlike its ill-fated $5.8-billion takeover of Safeway Canada in 2013.
Chief executive officer Michael Medline said it will keep the operations and management team of Ottawa-based Farm Boy intact, holding on to its popular private labels and focus on fresh and prepared foods, which are fast-growing and potentially high-margin categories compared to other parts of the grocery sector.
“I don’t want any change to Farm Boy other than if we can assist them in growing faster,” Mr. Medline said.
The Safeway purchase resulted in losses for the entire Sobeys-Safeway business and a write down of the Safeway assets.
